Improvement in ladies  felted skirts



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALMANZOR W. BOYNTON, OF NORWALK, CONNECTICUT. y

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.

115,578, dated December 27, 1864; antedatcd December 3, 1864.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALMANZOR W. BoYN- TON, ofthe town of Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have iuvented a new and useful Improvement in Ladies Skirts, asa new article of manufacture; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction, character, and operation of the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a skirt ready for use. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a skirt merely felted and formed, ready to have the waistband cut open for use.

My improvement consists in manufacturing a whole skirt in one piece by felting the ma terial, and in giving it the desired form or shape so as to constitute a skirt ready for use, except simply cutting open the waistband and extending the slit downward as far as desired, and so that when the skirt is stift"- ened (as it may be) it will not only serve as a valuable garment for all purposes for which a skirt is ever worn, but will enable a lady to entirely dispense with hoops, and yet retain the desired form or shape ofthe lower part of her dress.

I make the skirt of wool, (or any other material which is susceptible of being felted,) whole and in 'one piece, by felting the material in the same manner as for hat-bodies, Snc., without tearing the bat or stopping on the parts. When wool is used, I wind the sliver of carded wool, as it comes from the doifer of the carding-machine, onto a suitable cone or former, as in making hat-bodies, and when fur or other material is used I blow the material onto a perforated hollow cone, or deposit iton the cone by any -other known means, and I distribute the material as it may be needed for strength, firmness, Src-that is, I make the upper portion, as at A, and the lower portion at B somewhat thicker than the central part, with a suitable taper, because the top and bottom are liable to greater strain, and because by so arranging the stock or ma terial it will tend to make the skirt assume and retain its appropriate shape, (whether worn as an inside or outside garment,) and yet leave the central part sufficiently flexible to be convenient when stooping or sittin g down, and I felt these bats in the usual manner.

To give the skirt its proper shape, as shown in the drawings, I place the felted bat onto a proper block or former, and work it to the shape ofthe block by a process similar to that used in planking hats.

When the skirt is thus formed, any lady can cut open the waistband in the desiredplacil and continue the slit downward to the desired extent, when the skirt will be ready for wearing.

When desired, the skirts may be stiffened with water-proof stiffening or otherwise (in the same Way that hats are stift'ened) to the extent deemed necessary. Most of the stiffening should be used at or near the top and bottom, and extended in a varying degree toward the central part, as is deemed necessary, though the top and bottom should be stift'ened enough to make them retain their shape nnder all ordinary circumstances, while the cen tral part must be sufficiently flexible to yield readily for stooping, sitting down, &c. Vhen the skirt is thus stilfened, there will be no occasion for wearin g hoops.

When desired, the waistband and bottom may be bound with any suitable material, and the lower portion of the skirt may be made thoroughly water-proof, so that it will not absorb the moisture from the walk, &c., and so that., when soiled. it may be wiped clean -with a sponge or otherwise; and the skirt may be ornamented by printing, embossing, or embroidering, as indicated at C, Fig. l, in any form which the fancy may dictate and to any extent which the tastes of the ladies may re quire, and it may be perforated for ventilation, Src., as in Fig. 2, to any extent desired; and it may be made of any reasonable weigh t, to suit the market, for either inside or outside garments.

These skirts may be made the color of the material, as white wool or mixed or colored, as may be desired.

The advantages 0f my improvement consist in that I can make the most serviceable skirt which has ever been made of any textile fabric, and furnish it at much less expense compared with its usefulness 5 and iu that, while it is a valuable garment for every purpose for which a skirt is ever worn, when f stiff'ened, as above described, it will enable :L A Whole skirtfor ladies, of one piece of felt- ]ady to dispense with the inconvenience of ing, substantially as herein desciibed and set hoops, which serve but; the one purpose of forth.

giving; shape to the other clothing being Worn. ALMANZOR W. BOYNTON.

What I claim as my invention, and desire Witnesses: to secure by Letters Patent, as :L new article L. W. BOYNTON,

of manufacture, is- R. FITZGERALD. 

